What the Fruc? Fructose Directly Linked to Cancer, Diabetes and Obesity
Some research studies have linked consumption of large amounts of any type of added sugar — not just high-fructose corn syrup — to such health problems as weight gain, dental cavities, poor nutrition, and increased triglyceride levels, which can boost your heart attack risk.
--Jennifer K. Nelson, M.S., R.D., L.D., Mayo Clinic nutritionist
While Ms. Nelson of the Mayo Clinic may not be ready to single out HFCS (I'm not quite sure why?), fructose is something we have to watch closely.
Particularly High Fructose Corn Syrup.
In recent studies, it has been linked to cancer, diabetes and obesity. There is a growing backlash against HFCS and some major companies are responding to the pressure removing it from its products include giants like Hunt's ketchup, Snapple, Gatorade and Starbucks' baked goods.
Pancreatic Cancers Use Fructose, Common in a Western Diet, to Fuel Growth
Posted Date: 8/3/2010 8:30 AM
Faculty: Anthony Heaney, M.D., Ph.D.
Pancreatic cancers use the sugar fructose, very common in the Western diet, to activate a key cellular pathway that drives cell division, helping the cancer to grow more quickly, a study by researchers at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center has found.
Although it’s widely known that cancers use glucose, a simple sugar, to fuel their growth, this is the first time a link has been shown between fructose and cancer proliferation, said Dr. Anthony Heaney, an associate professor of medicine and neurosurgery, a Jonsson Cancer Center researcher and senior author of the study.
“The bottom line is the modern diet contains a lot of refined sugar including fructose and it’s a hidden danger implicated in a lot of modern diseases, such as obesity, diabetes and fatty liver,” said Heaney, who also serves as director of the Pituitary Tumor and Neuroendocrine Program at UCLA. “In this study, we show that cancers can use fructose just as readily as glucose to fuel their growth.”
http://www.cancer.ucla.edu/index.aspx?recordid=385&page=644
If you want to be healthy, we have to be very careful with fructose which is a sugar contained in fruit. Luckily, fruit is full of fiber, pectin and other solids which slow the absorption of fructose into our blood stream but even too much fruit at one time can be a problem and cause fat accumulation and sugar spikes. (So be careful all of you on Weight Watchers who have been told fruit doesn't cost you a point! Too much fruit can be bad. Why can't Weight Watchers get it right?)
While I know fruit is an important part of your diet, if you have fat storage problem and blood sugar problems, you will have to restrict your intake of fruit to 1-2 servings per day no matter what Weight Watchers says. They have it wrong on fruit (right on most vegetables being unlimited).
The real dangerous form of fructose is the highly processed High Fructose Corn Syrup. HFCS is the sweetener of choice in the beverage industry and particularly soft drinks (Coke made the switch from cane sugar to HFCS in the mid 1980's when we were following the razzle-dazzle of the New Coke saga). But HFCS is also in nearly every other processed and refined food in your refrigerator, your freezer and your kitchen cabinets. Start checking the labels and you will be amazed. HFCS is everywhere including your ketchup, steak sauce, cookies and salad dressing.
We have gone from consuming 0 pounds of High Fructose Corn Syrup (it was developed in the 1970's) to 83 pounds of HFCS consumption annually in 1995.
The fructose industry will fire back "Fructose is in fruit so how can it be bad?" But fruit contains a fraction of the fructose and it is contained in fiber which slows the absorption rate.
Also, High Fructose Corn Syrup is not pure fructose.
In soft drinks, HFCS is 55% fructose and 45% glucose. In baking goods it is 42% fructose. The Glucose-Fructose combination in large amounts is a particularly DEADLY COMBINATION FOR OUR BODIES. Why? Because when you consume HFCS, the glucose goes straight to your blood stream and floods the system. This is true if it is in soda, ketchup or even baked goods. In small amounts, glucose is fuel and is burned off. If too much HFCS is consumed, which you can assume is what happens when we drink 16-32 ounces of soda in one sitting, the excess glucose that is not burned as energy gets turned into fat and is stored in our fat cells. This is primarily in our stomach, butt, thigh region. Forget about beer gut, you very well may have soda gut. Sure the glucose could try to go to your muscles but they can only absorb so much glucose. If you don't have much muscle and you have a lot of fat, guess where the glucose goes? The fat gets fatter.
Soda Warning? New Study Supports Link Between Diabetes, High-fructose Corn Syrup
Released: 8/13/2007 4:30 PM EDT Source: American Chemical Society
Newswise — Researchers have found new evidence that soft drinks sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) may contribute to the development of diabetes, particularly in children. In a laboratory study of commonly consumed carbonated beverages, the scientists found that drinks containing the syrup had high levels of reactive compounds that have been shown by others to have the potential to trigger cell and tissue damage that could cause the disease, which is at epidemic levels. They reported here today at the 234th national meeting of the American Chemical Society
http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/532433/
The bigger part of the problem is the 55% fructose part of the equation. Fructose cannot go directly to the blood stream so it goes directly to the liver to be converted to glucose. In a piece of fruit, this could take a while because the fructose is in fiber, pectin and other solids. So even though a piece of fruit has glucose and fructose, there is a natural slowing mechanism in fruit that allows the glucose to be absorbed first and the fructose to be converted to glucose and released later. That is why fruit is such a great source of energy (along with the vitamins, minerals and even smaller micronutrients). Soda on the other hand gives you a sugar burst and then a crash.
With soda, there is a direct hit of fructose to the liver with no buffer. Since the other 45 % of HFCS is glucose and that is already coursing through your veins, the liver converts the fructose to triglycerides which are blood lipids which means blood fats. Too much fructose consumption and these blood lipids may be stored in your liver (causing a condition known as fatty liver) or the triglycerides could be sent out into the blood stream and also stored as fat in your body.
HFCS is part of many Multi-Billion dollar industries
Why do manufacturers use HFCS-- Simple. It's cheaper.
The U.S. government keeps table sugar costs high in the U.S and imposes stiffer tariffs on foreign sugar to keep the American Sugar Industry going strong. But prices for table sugar are still high compared to HFCS. HFCS is derived from corn which the US government pays farmers to overproduce therefore making it very inexpensive. Since the mid 1990s, the United States federal government has subsidized corn growers by $40 billion which of course comes from taxing you and me. Remember, the government has no money, they get it from you and me and when they "print money" they have to borrow it from someone else which you and me end up paying back with more taxes. Yet the government also knows that big business can fund elections so they are often quite connected at the hip. Don't be fooled when a politician wags his fingers at big business or the rich. It is the oldest trick in the book to make you think they are on your side. When push comes to shove and President Obama needs things to happen, he brings the billionaires together to help him (like his recent trip to Silicon Valley. I live five minutes from the meeting site and wasn't asked for my opinion. http://www.siliconvalley.com/sv150/ci_17426586?nclick_check=1)
And there is a lot of money backing HFCS which means these groups can pay researchers at universities and other institutions to come up with "findings" that HFCS isn't all that bad. Of course the media will run with the headlines, never read the reports and further cloud the real health issues.
Coca-Cola: Coke led the way in the mid 1980's switching from cane sugar to HFCS. Coke is a pretty big company. They like profits. HFCS=Bigger Profits.
Pepsi: Is a heavy user of HFCS but has since been introducing cane sugar back in some brands as a "Classic taste."
Lobbyists: The Corn Refiners Association claims that HFCS is comparable to table sugar. It's natural. It's from corn. Corn is a vegetable. How could that be bad?
Medical Pros and Associations: The American Medical Association suggests "it appears unlikely that HFCS contributes more to obesity or other conditions than sucrose" but call for further "independent" research on the subject. Wow, thanks for that toothless observation. I can't wait for the AMA to actually start leading the way in health instead of sheepishly following way behind.
Government: U.S. Food and Drug Administration classified HFCS as safe in 1976. 35 years & counting. It may take another 35 years before they admit they were wrong. How long did we allow cigarettes to be sold knowing that they killed people (the answer is forever, you can still buy them!).
The truth of the matter is that we consume way too much sugar of all kinds. 160 pounds of sugar consumed per person per year (that is the equivalent of a full sized adult--before he/she starts over consuming sugar). HFCS is a dangerous form of sweetener because:
The combination of fructose/glucose in HFCS creates overload in our blood stream, fat conversion and fat storage.
HFCS been linked to cancer, obesity, diabetes
HFCS comes from genetically modified corn. Do we know the consequences of that?
You will need these facts as the HFCS supporters like Coke, Pepsi, the Corn Refiners Association, the U.S. government and the AMA come your way. They will advertise, use experts, subsidize "independent studies" and pay doctors to support their cause.
Here is a slick advertisement aimed right at mothers trying to confuse the issue. This gem was put out by the Corn Refiners Association. Are you guys freaking kidding me?
This is exactly the kind of BS that keeps us from knowing the truth about health.
Thankfully, some big companies are getting the message that maybe HFCS is a problem. As mentioned above, A number of companies also have stopped using high fructose corn syrup in some or all products (Starbucks, Gatorade, Sara Lee). While sugar is still an issue, at least HFCS is being scaled back a little.
Sara Lee latest to curtail use of high-fructose corn syrup
August 17, 2010|By Emily Bryson York, Chicago Tribune reporter
First it was calories, then it was fat and sodium. The latest health concern: high-fructose corn syrup, and the trend is accelerating.
As the country struggles with obesity issues, ingredients in food have been under increasing scrutiny, bringing some confusion to the marketplace but also opportunities for companies as they try to differentiate themselves in a competitive grocery store.
Consumer concern has been getting a quick response from food companies, as many remove high-fructose corn syrup from well-known products, replacing it with cane or beet sugar. Downers Grove-based Sara Lee Corp. is the latest to jump on board, removing the sweetener from its two best-selling breads.
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-08-17/health/ct-biz-0817-corn-syrup-h...
